I travelled from Manchester to Ferryside on 14th August The 11:15 train was cancelled due to a car hitting a bridge, so we got the 12:15 delaying us by 1 hour and 2 minutes. Arriva have turned down my claim for compensation as due to circumstances beyond their control. Is there anything I can do or is that just the way it is?!
The National Rail Conditions of Travel (NRCoT) set out, under Condition 33, that passengers are entitled to compensation in respect of certain qualifying delays to their journey. The main condition to qualify for compensation is that the delay must be at least 60 minutes - or less, if thus specified in the relevant TOC's Passenger Charter. Condition 33.4 gives the right to the TOCs to refuse to compensate where the cause of the delay was "entirely outside the control of the rail industry"; if TOCs wish to engage this exemption then they must include it in their Passenger Charter.
In this particular case, Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) have indeed included the NRCoT 33.4 exemption in their Passenger Charter. Therefore, where a delay would qualify for compensation - but for the fact that the cause of the delay was "entirely outside the control of the rail industry" - they are entitled to refuse to pay compensation. You have a variety of consumer rights in addition to those set out in the NRCoT's delay compensation scheme; however, I don't think they are engaged here as they refer to the trader (i.e. ATW) performing the service with reasonable care and skill. For a delay cause whose origin is fundamentally not the railway's fault (i.e. a bridge strike) there would have to be a fair level of negligence by ATW for this to apply.
Now, having said all that, whether or not ATW can make use of the NRCoT 33.4 exemption in
your case will depend on the exact facts of the matter. There is an important distinction to be made, when determining whether or not ATW can use the exemption, between causes of delay that are "not within the control" of the rail industry - i.e. those not originally caused by the rail industry - and causes that are "entirely outside the control" of the rail industry. The wording of NRCoT 33.4 implies that there is a stringent duty upon the TOCs and the rail industry at large to mitigate delays, and where this duty is breached, the cause of the delay will not be "
entirely" outside the rail industry's control. and hence the exemption cannot be used.
All of which is to say - if ATW did everything they could possibly have done to mitigate delays, or for example the bridge strike occured very shortly before your train was due to pass, then I would be inclined to say they are entitled to rely on the NRCoT 33.4 exemption. If, however, (and as a delay of "just" an hour might suggest), they sort of gave up and cancelled many trains even though this may not strictly have been necessary (but was perhaps convenient for operational/staffing reasons), then I would suggest they cannot say the delay was "
entirely" outside the rail industry's control - much though its origin may have been - and as such I would reject an attempt to rely on the exemption.